Monday, October 10, 2011

I've Grown Up

Sure, it’s only a 550 sq. ft. studio, but I really like the
idea of having something that I can pay off in ten years. Honestly, the real
estate market here in Chicago became quite the buyers’ market. When I ran the
numbers and realized I could actually buy something so easily, I couldn’t pass
it up.

So, yes, I’m growing up. I met with my realtor to go over
the contract and I heard myself saying grown-up words like “association fees”
and “discount points” and “sewer”. It all seemed pretty surreal.

I’ve retained a real estate attorney all by myself just like
a big boy. I’ve a lender who’s approved me to pay them money for the next
fifteen years. Most importantly, I’ve enlisted the help of professional movers
who have promised to disassemble and reassemble my computer desk – a horrible, foreboding
task that I was dreading.

My mortgage, condo fees, and taxes result in a monthly
payment that’s considerably less than I’m paying in rent right now. Sure, I’ll
miss living in my wonderful, goofy Marina Towers, but I just can’t pass up a
deal like this. It’s a prudent move to make and one that employed mature
foresight. . . . I’m growing up.

Compared to Marina Towers downtown, this place is pretty nondescript:

But that's okay. With all those trees, I now refer to this place as "the country." Compared to downtown, it sort of feels that way.

This condo has lots of other pluses. It’s in the nice
Edgewater neighborhood, it’s two blocks from the EL station, three blocks from
a large grocery store and . . . are you ready for this . . . it comes with a washer
and dryer. Holy-Mother-of-God -- no more traipsing down to the laundry room and
fighting over washing machines. I can now wash my underpants with complete
insouciance; with careless ease.

Oh, and it gets even better. It’s one block from the beach
on the lake. Not that I would ever actually go outside and walk on the beach (a
repellant activity if there ever was one) but it’s there if I’m so inclined.

Here is the nearby Repellant Beach:

Here’s the biggest perk. Do you remember the apartment
building that Bob and Emily lived in on The Bob Newhart Show? (I blogged about
it a few years ago and someone posted a link to my blog on Wikipedia.)

Here is
their apartment building that was featured on the series:

Well, Bob and Emily will be my neighbors, just one block
away. Isn’t that the coolest thing ever?

I remember growing up in my Little Bitty Home Town in Texas
and watching Bob Newhart ride the EL from downtown, walk to his apartment
building, and wishing I could live in such a cos-mo-politan environment. I didn’t
think I’d ever get to.

Now, whenever I disembark from the train like Bob did, I can look up at his apartment building, think of that thirteen year old boy who never thought he'd get to live in a big city, and realize that he finally got to grow up.